Jon Gruden lauds Bryce Young as one of NFL’s top performers in first month of 2026 season
By Jacob Moss
Published:
The first month of the 2026 NFL season has officially come and gone, and the first several weeks of the new campaign have delivered plenty of surprising storylines and unexpected standout performers.
One of the best players through the first 4 games of the season has been Carolina Panthers star quarterback Bryce Young, who has reached an entirely new level in his fourth season as a pro.
Young’s stellar play has caught the attention of fans and analysts across the sport, including former Super Bowl-winning head coach Jon Gruden, who named the former Alabama quarterback as one of his top NFL performers so far this year on Monday morning.
“I think Bryce Young deserves a lot of credit,” Gruden told Dave Portnoy on Wake Up Barstool. “You want to pick the top 2 or 3 players in the NFL in the first month of the season, Bryce Young is one of them. That ball comes out of his hand, I mean, I don’t even see it leave. He is playing incredibly for Carolina.”
Gruden’s praise is certainly warranted, as Young currently ranks first among all NFL passers in yards (1,268), is tied for second in passing touchdowns (9), and ranks ninth in completion percentage (62.4).
Young has had massive ups and downs during his young NFL career, but it looks like he’s finally blooming into the franchise quarterback the Panthers hoped he would be when they selected him first overall in 2023. If he can maintain his current production through the rest of the season, he could lead Carolina on its first extended playoff run in over a decade.
